California Farm No Sugar Grape Jelly

Name: California Farm No Sugar Grape Jelly
Total time: 6000 s
Yield: 2 people, 2 pint jars
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 pounds red, blue, purple or black organic grapes, free of ripening agents or pesticides, makes 3 pounds when seedless, and skins removed. Do not use pink, green, or white grapes; 1/2 cup water; 3/4 cup agave nectar (sweetener); 1/4 cup Clear Jel (modified corn starch); 2 Tbs lemon juice from fresh lemon (stabilizer)

Hobby Horseman @HobbyHorseman

California, United States

Our jams and jellies use no sugar and less natural sweetener so we get more grape jelly flavor, by using agave nectar instead of sugar. Your supermarket sells agave nectar, about $2 a cup. The only other ingredients you need are Clear Jel and lemon juice. We use Oregon State University Clear Jel from Nichols Nursery, a modified natural corn starch product. Clear Jel stays liquid in cooking and canning, allowing heat to penetrate and sterilize the liquid jelly inside the jar. It turns into solid smooth jelly when cooled when you use lemon juice as stabilizer.

Hobby Horseman @HobbyHorseman

California, United States

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Ingredients

1 hour cooking, 40 minutes canning

2 people, 2 pint jars

4 poundsred, blue, purple or black organic grapes, free of ripening agents or pesticides, makes 3 pounds when seedless, and skins removed. Do not use pink, green, or white grapes
1/2 cupwater
3/4 cupagave nectar (sweetener)
1/4 cupClear Jel (modified corn starch)
2 Tbslemon juice from fresh lemon (stabilizer)
Equipment: dutch oven to simmer jelly and to sterilize 2 pint mason jars, food mill or cheesecloth bag, potato masher
Cost: red grapes $4, lemon $1, agave nectar $2, clear jel 25 cents, $3.63 per jar

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Steps

1 hour cooking, 40 minutes canning

1

Make grape juice: Dip grape clusters in cold water, remove debris, destem, put in dutch oven over 1/2 cup of boiling water, simmer till grapes burst open, about 10 minutes. Mash with potato masher. Run through food mill with 3 mm filter to make juice.
2

Make grape jelly: mix pure grape juice with agave nectar, lemon juice and clear jel, stir to boil, 220F degrees, thicken, about 50 minutes: do plate test: cool 1/2 teaspoon of jelly in freezer, put drop on vertical plate, if it does not run down, jelly is ready. If not ready, simmer a few minutes more, test again.
3

Fill grape jelly jars: Pour warm jelly into two pint mason jars, leave 1/2” airspace. Close lids but not tight so air can escape.
4

Jelly canning: put pints in dutch oven, fill to bottom of the screwtop with hot water, bring to boil, low boil 40 minutes. Lift pint jars out, tighten lids, place jar upside down on towel, let cool. When cool, feel if lid is vacuum tight, put in pantry. If not tight, put in fridge.

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Cooksnaps

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Hobby Horseman @HobbyHorseman

on August 19, 2022 21:05

California, United States

I teach people at the farmers market to grow small scale fruits and vegetables. My grandparents and parents taught me growing, cooking and preserving home grown fruits and vegetables, eggs, meats and fish. I got certified by the University of California Master Gardener Program in 2005. I try to bring out the original flavor of ingredients, then add layers of spices, herbs and flavorings that enhance, not distort the taste. These are the global, organic and vegan family recipes we use.